A Pithamarda[1] is a man without wealth, alone in the world, whose only property consists of his Mallika,[2] some lathering substance, and a red cloth, who comes from a good country, and who is skilled in all the arts; and by teaching these arts is received in the company of citizens, and in the abode of public women.
A Vita[3] is a man who has enjoyed the pleasures of fortune, who is a compatriot of the citizens with whom he associates, who is possessed of the qualities of a householder, who has his wife with him, and who is honored in the assembly of citizens and in the abodes of public women, and lives on their means and on them.
A Vidushaka[4] (also called a Vaihasaka, i.e., one who provokes laughter) is a person only acquainted with some of the arts, who is a jester, and who is trusted by all.
These persons are employed in matters of quarrels and reconciliations between citizens and public women.
This remark applies also to female beggars, to women with their heads shaved, to adulterous women, and to old public women skilled in all the various arts.
Thus a citizen living in his town or village, respected by all, should call on the persons of his own caste who may be worth knowing. He should converse in company and gratify his friends by his society, and obliging others by his assistance in various matters, he should cause them to assist one another in the same way.
There are some verses on this subject as follows:–
A citizen discoursing, not entirely in the Sanscrit langu-
- ↑ According to this description a Pithamarda would be a sort of professor of all the arts, and as such received as the friend and confidant of the citizens.
- ↑ A seat in the form of the letter T.
- ↑ The Vita is supposed to represent somewhat the character of the Parasite of the Greek comedy. It is possible that he was retained about the person of the wealthy and dissipated as a kind of private instructor, as well as an entertaining companion.
- ↑ Vidushaka is evidently the buffoon and jester. Wilson says of him that he is the humble companion, not the servant, of a prince or man of rank, and it is a curious peculiarity that he is always a Brahman. He bears more affinity to Sancho Panza, perhaps, than any other character in western fiction, imitating him in his combination of shrewdness and simplicity, his fondness of good living and his love of ease. In the dramas of intrigue he exhibits some of the talents of Mercury, but with less activity and ingenuity, and occasionally suffers by his interference. According to the technical definition of his attributes he is to excite mirth by being ridiculous in person, age, and attire.
